IND vs SA, 2nd T20I: Ashish Nehra slams Rishabh Pant for underutilizing THIS bowler, says 'Don't see any reason why...'

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In his second international match as India captain, Rishabh Pant continues to disappoint cricket experts with his poor decision-making on the field. In the first game, he underused Yuzvendra Chahal and asked him to bowl the last over of the match. And now in the second game, Axar Patel was underutilized by him as the left-arm spinner was given just one over in the match even when there were two right-hand batsmen batting in the name of Temba Bavuma and Heinrich Klaasen. 

Rishabh pant during toss today  pic.twitter.com/Ec7OMOGly6 — Rishabh pant fans (@rishabpantclub) June 12, 2022

Pointing out the mistakes that Rishabh Pant made in the first and second T20I, former India cricketer Ashish Nehra said that Pant underused Axar Patel. "Changes to the playing XI depend on the conditions in Vizag. Rishabh Pant also needs to take a look. He held back Axar Patel for so long. There were two right-handed batters at that time. I don't see any reason why Axar Patel was not given an over at that time," Nehra said on Cricbuzz.

Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel also expressed that India could have gone with Axar Patel against Klassen was failed to get going in the essential stages of his innings. "Reading the game becomes very important in such situations, especially in this format. Klassen was struggling initially, and he had to change gears. Although he played spin really well today, there was a chance to bring in Axar Patel against him."

Interestingly, Klassen was the replacement of South Africa opener Quinton de Kock who suffered an injury ahead of the second T20I. Klassen was named Man of the match for his 81-run knock in just 46 balls.  After winning the award Klassen said, "Quinny came up to me in the bus and told me that he has injured his wrist. Yesterday morning his hand was a bit stiff, so I got to know that I am playing yesterday. It looked very difficult with the new ball, so I tried to target the spinners. I am glad it happened against India. I am honoured to be here, and I am lucky to be here. A lot of staff members backed me, so pretty happy with that support, this one's for them."